Divisiveness

I made the mistake last week of watching some of the Judiciary Committee meeting of the House of Representatives as they contemplated whether or not to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of the House. I was curious how each side would frame their arguments, and I wanted to see what a reasonable argument would be for either case.

Likely because I don't spend much time watching actual proceedings in government, I was surprised by the level of derision displayed by each of the lawmakers as they made a point or refuted the previous point. The old saying "If looks could kill..." came to mind, and could have been altered to say, "If words could kill..."

One moment stood out when a lawmaker (I honestly do not remember which one or from which party) called out another representative for name calling and lack of decorum. It was such a moment of theatre. Each of these representatives, as they spoke to and about one another, were as spiteful and dismissive as they could be, even as they called one another "gentleman" and "gentlelady" and used terms like the honorable representative from such and such. Using names, profanity, whatever language one chose could hardly have sounded more derisive.

My thought is this: Is this what we have come to? Is this the best we can do? Is it necessary that in order to make a point we have to treat one another as if they are moronic, stupid beyond our ability to describe?

When we disagree with one another, can we do so in a respectful way, recognizing that the person who is disagreeing with us is likely not a complete imbecile? People are worthy of respect, whether we vehemently disagree with them or not.

This one episode that I witnessed on television seems to be part of a larger trend that has been exacerbated by the ability to snipe one another's comments on social media. Meaningful dialogue has been replaced by one liners meant to injure or discredit one another. I don't claim that this tendency is new in our world, one need only look at past political debate to prove that it isn't, but it seems to have increased so much so that there is no possibility of middle ground.

This plays out in so many different places in our daily lives. The church is not immune from this type of behavior. In some ways, because the stakes are high in religion, the church is even more contentious. But I don't believe that is the way God intended the church to be.

The overall ethos of the world is division, but the overall ethos of God is love and grace. Can we treat one another as if we really believe we are all children of God? Can we lower the level of animosity and see the places of fear that so many are reacting from? And can we see the fear within ourselves that causes us to react the way we do?

I am not advocating setting aside the importance of struggles for equality, for access to services like health care and housing for all, for an end to racism and sexism and other forms of injustice. As a Christian, I believe it is my duty to stand against all those forms of inequality. It is my hope that as a people we can speak about these issues in ways that do not dehumanize those who disagree. That is something I don't see happening in our government or in the rest of the world. To make a point, many choose to make anyone holding the opposing view less than human. But it is possible to disagree while still being genuinely respectful to one another. In fact, I believe it is necessary so all people everywhere can receive the respect we deserve as creations of God.

My takeaway is simple. Hopefully we can all try to lower the level of vitriol on social media and other platforms and use reasoned arguments instead of heated insults to make a point. It may not be reciprocated. But in the long run, I think it will improve the possibility of progress.

At least that's the view from where I stand today...